Wine Recommendation

Blue Grouse Vineyards

2005 Siegerrebe, Estate(Vancouver Island)

Siegerrebe is a German cross of Gewürztraminer and Madeleine Angevine. It has the spicy characteristics of Gewürztraminer – in spades. One of the earliest ripening white varieties, Siegerrebe grapes become pungently aromatic in mid to late August, even in the cooler terroir of Vancouver Island. The bad news is that no variety attracts wasps and birds like Siegerrebe, forcing vintners to defensive extremes. Several of Blue Grouse’s peers actually have taken portable vacuum cleaners into the vineyard to suck the wasps from the grape clusters.

The good news is that, when the predators are warded off, Siegerrebe produces wines with flavour profiles so dramatic they might be called thespian. Blue Grouse describes this variety as “seductive.”

Its 2004 vintage begins with a floral aroma, of roses and Muscat characters. The luscious flavours display grapefruit, sweet plums, with exotic tropical hints. The finish, slightly off-dry, is long and lingering. 86 points.

The Wine

The Reviewer

John Schreiner

John Schreiner has been covering the wines of British Columbia for the past 30 years and has written 10 books on the wines of Canada and BC. He has judged at major competitions and is currently a panel member for the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellence in Wine. Both as a judge and as a wine critic, he approaches each wine not to find fault, but to find excellence. That he now finds the latter more often than the former testifies to the dramatic improvement shown by BC winemaking in the past decade.

The Wine

The Reviewer

John Schreiner

John Schreiner has been covering the wines of British Columbia for the past 30 years and has written 10 books on the wines of Canada and BC. He has judged at major competitions and is currently a panel member for the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellence in Wine. Both as a judge and as a wine critic, he approaches each wine not to find fault, but to find excellence. That he now finds the latter more often than the former testifies to the dramatic improvement shown by BC winemaking in the past decade.